#at the recommendation of kano

[birdofjupiter]

starting off the new year with tristan and iseult based off of @kosmic-autokrat ‘s fandesign. I actually don’t know who any of these people are, but I do know that kano is a little insane about them. merry new year, fellas

[lauraagrace]

Today is my second annual kickoff of my Laura's Read & Review Shoujo Spree and SO excited!!

There are THIRTY manga series to choose from and I'm also hosting an international giveaway of QQ Sweeper volume 1, My Happy Marriage sticker, and a Snow White with the Red Hair enamel pin!

I'm going to share the voting form here, but I have a link to my YouTube channel if you want to see the new video talking about everything!

VOTE NOW: https://forms.gle/4UQx4cdiVNKUtjP67

[jigo-ku]

I just saw the first episode of Kare Kano. Why did no one tell me about this gem b4?????

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Alice in Borderland characters as songs in my Spotify Liked Songs

Done in celebration of season 2 coming out TOMORROW!!! I chose these songs purely based on the Vibes and what character fit those vibes best. This will of course be updated after season 2 comes out, but for now, I hope you all like this list!

Arisu Ryohei – “Good Kids” // Alex Mattson

Usagi Yuzuha – “Tired as Fuck” // the Staves

Karube Daikichi – “Lies of the Beautiful People” // Sixx AM

Chota Segawa – “Pins and Needles” // Moon Walker

Shibuki Saori – “Loose” // Cinnamon Babe

Chishiya Shuntaro – “Conceited” // Flo Milli

Kuina Hikari – “Find Some Peace” // Joan Darwin

Niragi Suguru – “Psycho” // Muse

Danma Takeru/Hatter – “Personal Jesus” // Depeche Mode

Aguni Morizono – “Will It Tear Us Apart” // Airways

Last Boss – “No Grey” // the Neighbourhood

Mira Kano – “Master of Puppets” // Metallica

[generatorrexy]

H-E-R-O

I read and finished this series, part of the Dial H franchise, and my god it was so cool!! It tells the story of how the Dial H affects the life of different people, some with good endings and some with tragic ones, all coming together at the end.

To understand this I think I have to explain the Dial H. It's a dial like those old phones had that when you dial H-E-R-O you get transformed into a superhero acquiring not only their abilities but also their backstory, until you dial it back and transform again into yourself. There are more dials out there in other series, all very good, but this one is exclusively about one single Dial H.

It starts with maybe the best opening of a comic ever, a guy in the phone crying, who after seeing Superman, wants to kill himself. It's shocking, the narration and art so good, making it an unforgettable scene!

And here starts this epic about human relationships, how we relate to one another and ourselves, with one story about a guy that gets transformed into a female superhero and can't change back, done with surprisingly good taste for a 2004 story.

Kano's work is fantastic, playing with panels in the most original ways, accompanied with the fantastic colors of Dave Stewart that give this comic that dark cartoon vibe that fits incredibly well, and of course the incredible script by Will Pfeifer that explores a big amount of characters and ideas every new arc!

The book also has Patrick Gleason and Dale Eaglesham for some arcs, with this last one doing the final arc, who also fit the series perfectly since their styles have all the same vibe.

The story is fantastic and I can't recommend reading this enough, it talks about depression, identity, self-image, love, all in really well executed arcs. From the guy that doesn't know why he keeps living, to the absent father, to the group of internet influencers to a killer, you get to see all kinds of protagonists with all kinds of goals and ambitions, and when I say the moments hit, they hit and hard, not only the sad ones but the happy and badass ones.

What would you do if you could turn into a superhero? What would you use that power for? Everyone has a different answer, and while we might not be able to actually do it, we can read this fantastic series about those who do.

[animehouse-moe]

Kiruru Kill Me

⚠️Warning: Will Contain Mildly Sexual Content⚠️

Want something crazy and out there that really makes the most of its concept? Kiruru Kill Me is definitely at the top of that list. I barely knew the story for this series when I picked up it for cheap through a used listing, but once I picked up the first volume I blasted through the 3 that are currently out (Volume 4 comes out tomorrow!).

So what's the story? Well, to be blunt, Kiruru is an assassin hired to kill the pharmaceutical mogul Aoi Nemo, a certified Bruce Wayne of the medical world in Japan. Unfathomable funds, secretive groups and developments galore. He has everything he wants, good lucks, a great physique, charisma. He has it all except for a girlfriend. One fateful day however, he has a run in with an incredibly beautiful woman, one that immediately sets his heart on fire and has him chasing a ghost for months. That is until, he finds out that this mystery woman is. Using his unfathomable funds (and unfathomable stupidity) to cultivate a relationship with her, he hires her to kill him, that being Aoi Nemo himself.

Yes, that's right, Aoi's dream girl is Kiruru the assassin, and with everything at his disposal he thought the best idea was to hire her to kill him, all so that he could get closer to Kiruru. So starts our game of reverse yandere Cat and Mouse. Kiruru coming up with every idea under the sun to kill Aoi, and Aoi turning himself into an indestructible man so that he can withstand all of Kiruru's "Love".

It is completely unironically, an incredibly fun and engaging read. It leans into it's ridiculousness super well, and the creativity mixed with plausibility of it all keeps you right in the thick of it. It's a concept that you'd think up for something like an old school cartoon style. A back and forth of crazy concepts that tie it all together. Also, did I mention it's a pretty steamy? With adult characters as well. Everyone is a working professional in this story so you can enjoy all it has to offer.

Each date/chapter is well thought out and creative, it follows a "format" so to speak, but it always knows just when to shake it up and flip the script. Surprise meetings, expectation subversion, a new rival, a new angle or revelation, it's got a written arsenal that rivals that of Kiruru's real arsenal.

The characters in general are pretty archetypal, but personally I find that they keep it just the right amount of shallow. Take Kiruru's mentor in the above image. The dude's a perv through and through, but they don't pretend to be anything else. It's a light and shallow character that just adds an angle of comedy to the series. Then there's stuff like Aoi's best friend/right hand man Mori. He's straight laced and plays opposite Aoi's incredibly intense and odd personality, teeing up jokes just as often as he is dishing them out himself. All of the characters here have just the right amount of exposure to not be seen as something incredibly diverse and deep, but avoid being pinned or limited to "shallow" or "cliché" typing.

It all plays into keeping Aoi's assassination at the hands of Kiruru at the front and center, but doesn't rely purely on the thrill of that chase to offer enjoyment. That is to say, it's got range without leaving the box it's placed itself in.

At the end of the day, it's just dumb fun for a mature audience. I wouldn't call it anything amazing, but for what it is it's really enjoyable, really ridiculous, and really interesting.

Plus, Aoi Nemo getting turned on by various assassination attempts is just super funny to me, and the added dialogue via narration is the cherry on top for it.

[spiderfreedom]

It's interesting how the same misogynistic trope can reappear, independently, in different countries. I'm reading "Scream from the shadows: the women's liberation movement in Japan" and this section about the connotations of the word 'woman' is interesting:

In the Japanese context, the semantic distinctions between the terms fujin, josei, and onna, which are all translated as “women” and/or “woman,” must be given careful attention, as they often signal political differences. Ribu [women's lib] activists deliberately chose and reappropriated onna, a term for woman that can be used in a pejorative manner with sexual or lower-class connotations. As noted by Kano Masanao, the term onna approximated a discriminatory word (sabetsu go). It signified the raw and total being that had to be liberated. According to linguistics scholar Orie Endo, its strong sexual implications made it a term that could “be substituted for many sexually related terms, such as mistress or prostitute,” and this was considered disrespectful, taboo, even “dirty.”

As a kid, I never liked the word 'woman' because it often sounded sexual to me, and I hated the way it was used. "My vices are alcohol, cigarettes, and women" - treating 'women' as equivalent as objects. "Love going to Colombia and seeing all the beautiful women" - treating 'women' as sightseeing objects. "You've known her since she was a girl, now watch her become a woman" - being a 'woman' is to be a passive sex object that is (often against her will) penetrated.

I used to think this was my personal issue with the word, but I've since learned other women also felt the same way about the word. And apparently in Japan, the word we foreigners are taught is the default word for woman (we learn woman = onna and man = otoko) is also subject to being sexualized, objectified, and degraded. What the Japanese 'ribu' activists did was to reclaim the word onna to mean a woman who was a subject, who was free to pursue sexual pleasure for herself and not for men. In other words, the degradation of the word for 'woman' isn't just something that happens in English, but in other languages and cultures. In this case, it does not appear to be a result of Western colonization, either.

If you haven't read much feminist work outside your home country (or about the West), I strongly recommend doing so. The more you learn about feminists in other countries, the more you realize that the form sexism takes is eerily universal.

[ihugmomo]

babymetal lore-dumping because im bored and i need to rant about my girlies (this could potentially be helpful for new babymetal fans too!)

babymetal originally formed as a heavy metal club in the idol group sakura gakuin, but became an independent group after suzuka nakamoto (su-metal) graduated from SG in 2012. moa kikuchi (moametal) and yui mizuno (yuimetal) joined during that time but were still in SG (they graduated in 2014).

doki doki☆morning was their first single (originally appeared on the sakura gakuin debut album 'sakura gakuin 2010 nendo: message'.) they preformed it during the "tokyo idol festival 2011: eco & smile" along with ijime, dame, zettai.

yuimetal left babymetal on October 19, 2018 due to recurring health issues, she couldn't make it to the rock am ring and rock on the range festivals, this indicated she was about to leave the group. saya hirai (sayametal) was the backup dancer during dark night carnival and the two festivals i mentioned previously.

yui was then replaced with 3 backup dancers for the tour line-up during the metal galaxy world tour in 2019 and 2020. (momoko okazaki, kano fujihira, and riho sayashi) they are also known as the 'avengers'.

momoko okazaki became an official member of the group in April 2023 under the stage name momometal. (scream & dance).

this pretty much covers the important bits of babymetal's lore over the years. if you want a more in depth explanation, i recommend reading the babymetal wiki page or watching videos that cover everything.

[bunnymajo]

Here's my genuine recommendation again for Genmu Senki Leda, a 1985 direct to video film that encapsulates everything really lovely about 80's anime artistically.

Featuring designs and animation direction from Mutsumi Inomata (Tales franchise)

Music from Shiro Sagisu (Evangelion, Kare Kano)

The late Hiromi Tsuru (Bulma) playing the titular character Yohko

Directed & partially Written by Kunihiko Yuyama (Pokemon, Goshogun, Wedding Peach)

Animation produced by Kaname Production, a smaller studio in the 80s made up of former Ashi Production staff

It's also not very long, so if you're a big Japanese animation buff or want to learn more about what was going on in the 80s, I think you owe it to yourself to check it out.

[shoujo-dump]

Manga recommendations for people who love Hikaeme ni Itte mo, Kore wa Ai manga, dedicated to @aengelren and all the other readers that enjoy the series ❤️

I have listed some categories below that are similar to the genres & subgenres of Hikaeme ni Itte mo, Kore wa Ai. Hopefully there might be some new series there that will be added to your reading list. Please note that not all series are obviously identical to Hikaeme, however I have used a ⭐ to indicate series that I think share most similarities with the series either in more than one genre or if the series have a similar atmosphere/general vibes to Hikaeme ni Itte mo, Kore wa Ai.

If you love the art style of Hikaeme, then I recommend checking out other series created by the same mangaka:

Hatsukoi ni Kiss (omnibus of 8 oneshots)

Kanjuku Summer End (oneshot)

Koi Wazurai no Ellie

Machiko wa Oborekake (oneshot)

Fast Romance:

Kare Kano (has anime adaptation!)

Koi no Mae ni, Amaku Hajimete. Hikaeme Elite-kun ga Watashi ni Dake Hatsujou shite imasu 🌶️

Museru Kurai no Ai wo Ageru ⭐

Ore Monogatari!! (has anime adaptation!)

Suki tte Ii na yo. (has anime, movie and live action adaptation!)

Delinquents:

Atashi no Banbi

Boku ni Hana no Melancholy

Five

I My Me Mine ⭐

Hajimete Koi o Shita Hi ni Yomu Hanashi (however doesn't seem to be an official nor fan English translation anywhere, the series has live action adaptation though!)

Hana yori Dango (has anime and several live action adaptations)

Hana Nochi Hare: Hanadan Next Season (has live action adaptation)

Haru no Ogawa wa Dokidoki Suru yo. (oneshot)

Iincho to Furyou-kun

Junai Tokkou Taichou!

Kimi ni Koishite Ii desu ka.

Kokuhaku Suru Aite o Machigaemashita

Megane, Tokidoki, Yankee-kun

Me no Tsukedokoro ga Deep Desho

Mikansei Demo Koi ga Ii

Mochizuki-san ka no Yankee ⭐

Raou-kun wa Watashi ni Kamau

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (has anime and live action adaptation!)

Webcomic: Kono Yankee wa Ubu Sugiru!

Love Interest Changes:

Futari de Koi wo suru Riyuu

Koukou Debut (has live action adaptation!)

Male Lead Falls in Love First:

Batsuichi ga Moteru nante Kiitemasen

Chorokute Kawaii Kimi ga Suki

Einheli no Hanayome 🌶️

Furare Girl 

Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai (anime adaptation is going to be released in 2024!)

Kanojo ga Kawaii Sugite Ubaenai

Kimi wa Kawaii Onnanoko

Mainichi Kiss shite ii desu ka?

Namaikizakari.

Sakura wa Watashi wo Sukisugiru ⭐

Slow Jet Coaster

Tsuiraku JK to Haijin Kyoushi (has live action adaptation!)

Webtoon: A Good Day to Be a Dog (available on webtoons.com)

Webtoon: The Fantasie of a Stepmother

Webtoon: As You Wish, Prince

Webtoon: The Reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion (also has anime adaptation!)

Webtoon: Writer's Block of Romance 

Webtoon: Your Ultimate Love Rival

Straightforward Male Lead:

Hamuko to Gao-kun

Kuchibiru ni Kimi no Iro

Living no Matsunaga-san

Midori no Himitsu (oneshot)

Neko to Kiss

Takane no Ran-san

Unmei no Hito ni Deau Hanashi

Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki ⭐

Yubisaki to Renren (will have anime adaptation in 2024!)⭐

Opposites attract:

Beast Master 

Kimi ga Kirai na Koi no Hanashi 

Kimi ni Todoke (has anime, live action )⭐

Saruyama!

Webtoon: Midnight Poppy Land (read the official English translation on webtoons.com, it currently has over 100 chapters) ⭐

Kuudere Female Lead:

Akuma to Love Song

Webtoon: I Failed to Oust the Villain!

Webtoon: Villains Are Destined to Die

Warm Ambience:

Honnou Switch 🌶️⭐

Houkago, Koishita.

Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryo Joshi (has anime adaptation!)

Ojou-san to Yobanaide

Tonari no Stella ⭐

[starsurface]

Hai! Been regressed all day because I’ve come down with a icky sickness and i dont feel so good :< Could I maybe get some Mk11 Kano Cg hcs of him looking after a sick/ill baby regressor?- ✨

No cause like, I've been sick for almost a week and it's only gotten worse, especially in the past two days >:(

There's some silly virus going around, and I'm sorry you caught it, darling :(

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

CG Kano w/ Sick Babyspace Regressor Hcs

⚔️ Kano, as much as I love him, isn't the best person

⚔️ Probably teased you for being sick when it wasn't that bad

⚔️ Like, come on, you aren't that sick, stop being all dramatic

⚔️ But when your symptoms began to worsen, he actually became super worried

⚔️ At first you just felt a bit icky, but now you can't feel half your face with how congested it is, your throats all scratchy, it hurts to talk, you're practically panting because you can't breathe through your nose

⚔️ ^ Apologies, I'm projecting, I feel incredibly icky rn

⚔️ He feels really bad that he didn't take your sickness seriously when he could have helped you when it wasn't that bad

⚔️ He feels even worse when you regress really tiny because of how icky you feel :(

⚔️ Don't you worry, Uncle Kano's gonna take good care of you now, Sweetheart

⚔️ Since your really tiny, he'll swaddle you in your favorite blankie and rock you, gently shushing your cries

⚔️ Kano's got a pretty tough inume system, so he doesn't get sick easily

⚔️ Because of this you get all the cuddles you could ever ask for

⚔️ Usually when you two cuddle he calls you a Clingy Koala but will die down his teasing because you feel icky and just want some lovin’

⚔️ Ans how could he make fun of you for that? Poor thing

⚔️ Kano, surprisingly, is a pretty decent chef, and will make you some bomb chicken noodle soup

⚔️ ^ I recommend Princess Chicken noodle soup, it makes me feel a bit better

⚔️ He'll spoon feed you so you don't spill anything by accident

⚔️ He'll get you some yummy Sprite and saltines if your feelings hungry

⚔️ Like, he'll get you actual food if you'd like, but those are some of the go to sick snacks he knows of

⚔️ Will not let you have munchies if you can't stomach anything though, he doesn't wanna make you throw up on purpose :(

⚔️ He'll clear his entire schedule just to make sure he can look after you

⚔️ Kanos not a very nice man, but he refuses to leave his bab’s side when they feel all icky like this

⚔️ Plus Kabal can do all the Black Dragon work for a few days <3

⚔️ Unfortunately, you might need to have some nasty medicine :(

⚔️ He'll get you some yummy water afterwards and cuddle you

⚔️ He knows some medicine doesn't taste great, but somehow all the yucky ones make people feel better quicker

⚔️ If your little enough to use diapers, he's more comforting about it than usual because your all sick

⚔️ If your throat hurts, he'll make you some warm milk or get you some throat medicine

⚔️ Is also a lot more patient than usual

⚔️ He knows your sick, and he knows you might be already sensitive than usual

⚔️ He also knows that crying because you couldn't find your hair tie isn't something that you'd usually do, but you better know he'll find that hair tie for you (he was probably sitting on it)

⚔️ Usually he'd encourage you to babble, laughing and having conversations with you

⚔️ But now you sound like Bi-Han, all raspy and almost drunk (very bad overall)

⚔️ So he probably expects you to go somewhat nonverbal, cradling you and letting you huff and cry into his chest

⚔️ It's never nice, feeling all icky and bad

⚔️ You'll never have to worry about going through it alone though, he'll become your clingy Koala

⚔️ He'll put on your favorite cartoons or movie, and you two will cuddle in bed

⚔️ He'll try to make you laugh by making jokes or jabbing at one of his friends

⚔️ But if you get irritated at them faster than usual, he'll stop

⚔️ It's no fun making a joke if you both can't laugh about it

⚔️ Kano isn't the best person to help you get better, since he doesn't actually know what he's doing half the time and is completely winging it

⚔️ But he's there for you, thick and thin

⚔️ Your his baby after all, you can't be sick alone, what kind if Dada would he be if he left you all alone? >:(

⚔️ He'll gently clean your face and shush you when you start apologizing

⚔️ There's so need to apologize, your body just feels a bit icky, Sweetheart, no need to be sorry

⚔️ If your too woozy or small to stand up, he'll carry you around so you can feel a bit better by brushing your teeth or taking a quick short

⚔️ Highly encourages sitting under a steamy shower so your face gets unclogged from all the bad stuff in it

⚔️ He'll even help you brush your teeth!! You really don't gotta lift a finger around this man, especially when you're this sick and small!!

⚔️ You becomes his new Teddy bear, and he becomes your new Teddy bear (and servant), that's how the world works <3

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I hope you feel better!!! <3

[cerberusmahou]

could you share your art inspo?

I assume you mean where my artstyle comes from? If this is what you mean, i'd say it's mainly from these:

Mayumi Azuma (Erementar Gerad)

Spiderman comics (after Superior Spiderman, specially)

Kohei Horikoshi (My Hero Academia)

Granblue Fantasy. I'd argue this is the biggest one because I've been playing for 7+ years.

Hirohiko Araki (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Naoki Urasawa (all good, but I specially love Monster and Billy Bat)

Rumiko Takahashi (all good, but favourites are Maison Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2)

Trigger Studio/GAINAX (specially the ones directed by Yoh Yoshinari and Hiroyuki Imaishi. My favourites are Little Witch Academia, Kill La Kill, Promare, FLCL, Panty & Stocking, Re:Cutie Honey, Evangelion, Kare Kano and Otaku no Video. Tengen Toppa is still incredible in terms of animation but some characters haven't aged well for me.)

CLAMP (all good, but my favourites are Card Captor Sakura and Tokyo Babylon)

Ai Yazawa (all good, but my favourites are Nana and Paradise Kiss)

Honorofic mentions

Kamome Shirahama (Atelier of the Witch Hat)

Ace Attorney & Professor Layton games

Rurouni Kenshin. This was my favourite manga as a kid and I can't leave it out because it definitely shaped my style. However, for morals reasons, I cannot recommend this work. Feel free to google about the controversy.

Yuto Sano (Gokurakugai)

I also try to go to art exhibitions about any style, any theme and any artistic discipline at least twice a month. You don't have to spend a lot of money, I go to free or cheap ones myself. Mainly for motivation and mental health, but I'm sure I must learn something passively from diversifying.

The last ones I went to were Marc Chagall and Matteo Pugliese, and I loved both. I especially enjoy human sculpture because you can learn a lot of anatomy there.

Hope it helps!

[justhereformilgram]

Why yes I do find myself becoming enthralled with multimedia stories primarily told through songs and sometimes manga and other ways with characters labeled numbers one to ten who are all so complicated and deep <3

Under the cut is spoilers/speculation for the Kagerou Project and trial one and trial two of the MILGRAM project! If you’re a fan of one of these I recommend checking the other two out! Also discussion of suicide topics and general dark content considering these tragic characters

Ok those up above are just paired by number (prison number and order of joining the mekkakushi dan) but here is how I’d pair them based on power/themes + explanations, maybe even if there was a crossover or au sort of thing. The ones with the blue squares are what I think definitely fit while the others I had to go back and forth on

prepare for a ton of yapping. Lol. Lmao.

Kido and Haruka: Abandonment and attention issues + the power to conceal yourself so you don’t get noticed is really interesting to me… Kido is more confident and blunt than Haruka, and yet, I do think they match up fairly well.

Seto and Mahiru: I was debating on giving Seto’s power to Yuno or even Es since it’s like. I don’t know people pleasing/the whole motif of trying to see inside of people’s minds but Mahiru having mind reading powers compels me, since she’s so empathetic. It would also make her indirect murder so much more messy since she would have likely tried to show her love more if she could viscerally sense her boyfriend struggling, but ough.

Kano and Kazui: now this. This fits like a glove. They’re all about lies and pain baybeee… Yobanashi Decieve is such a perfect Kazui song it’s not even funny. (Using the Will Stetson Eng Lyrics but like. Come on)

“Act normal and all of that, but my heart’s still rushing fast so easily��

“I bit the fruit (apple motif!!) and the snake burrowed inside of me”

“But that’s only right, cause I’m a monster in kind”

“Listen closely to this coward’s beating heart, a selfish face that’s seeped in pain, the only me that remains”

“Though I say I’m really lonely, nothing’s ever gonna change”

Mary and Amane : Okay this is a more of a hear me out but hear me out. Both sheltered from the outside/real world, albeit for different reasons, Amane by her religious organization, Mary by her mom since she has Medusa blood. Petrification as a power would be helpful for amane in that murder and/or not getting hurt again, and/or punishing sinners. Also I think Amane would judge Mary since she’s all about stopping the natural cycle of death with all those timeloops

Muu and Momo: Simply they are both popular and that power of drawing eyes is so perfect for that. Less good for Muu once everyone turns on her but it still works.

Ene and Fuuta: This is so just because digital media like video games and twitter are so important to Fuuta like yes go into the computer buddy and cyberbully on another level. They also have similar outward prickliness <3

Shintaro and ES: this is really just about main characters and retaining eyes probably going to Es…? Wasn’t too sure of this one myself tbh

Hibiya and Mikoto (and John): Ok Focusing eyes I couldn’t really think of anyone since it’s very niche but ehh..? Graphic artist??? I do think a kagerou daze situation with Mikoto and John of John trying to save Mikoto in a death loop would fit them before the twist that oh no, sacrificing yourself just continues a different cycle…

Konoha and Kotoko: they can PUNCH. mostly did this one because kotoko would love to have the power to punch people to death and also. Well. Most inter-party kills. In konoha’s case due to possession but Kotoko would prob use hers for cold hard Justice

Hiyori and Shidou: ok this was Clearing Eyes since timeline shenanigans makes it so that Hiyori isn’t part of the group most loops. Maybe I should’ve put Kenjirou instead… well… welp. Shidou would go that far for his wife, that’s all I’ll say, and also the snake of knowledge fits him

Ayano and Yuno: Wasn’t sure about this one, since tbh Novel ES (the girl one) probably fits Ayano better, but Yuno having such a emotional power, able to express her feelings to another, while having everything she has going on could be interesting. Maybe Yuno matches Hiyori better I don’t know LOL Ayano is my favorite of the kagepro bunch though

[xbuster]

i actually havent read any shoujo other than sailor moon and would love to! do you have any recommendations for where to start? i love a good romance

I’d love to give a concise answer, but shoujo is such a broad genre that you’re going to have to give me more details about what you’re looking for! I’m also still pretty new to shoujo myself so most of what I've read so far is mahou shoujo (Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, Tokyo Mew Mew, Himitsu no Akko-chan, and Nurse Angel Ririka SOS in particular), but I can at least tell you some classics I've read a little of so far or am planning on reading.

Fruits Basket is of course a must-read if you're looking for romance. Aim for the Ace is the shoujo sports manga for me and laid the foundation for girl rivalries with yuri subtext. And as far as the classics are concerned, The Rose of Versailles is there at the top of romance and drama. Akatsuki no Yona is one I really want to read because it's been compared to Arslan Senki, a novel series that I really love and I'd love to see how that premise could be sold to a shoujo demographic (Arslan Senki itself had a shoujo manga adaptation that I want to read sooooo bad but nobody cared to translate it). Kare Kano was one of Gainax's finest anime, so I feel confident in recommending the manga too as it's a really fun romcom. You also can't really go wrong with anything written by CLAMP.

And, of course, Lovely Complex itself is a really well-beloved shoujo romance manga that even got a live action film adaptation. I'm also a sucker for tall girl/ short guy romances (The Kabocha Wine <3333).

@boymagicalgirl Could probably give even better recommendations as a real shoujo manga connoisseur.

[centrally-unplanned]

what anime should I watch, if i don't want to see teens OR people very pointedly not fucking each other?

Depends what you mean by the question! If you mean you want to see them have a real relationship and actually fuck like teens do instead of beating around the bush like they are porcelain dolls, I recommend Kare Kano, probably one of my favourite comedy-drama romance shows around and ofc a Gainax classic (just 5-second-skip through the recap stuff they do at the beginning of episodes).

If you want to see relationships that are involved and detailed but aren't romantic or romantic-coded or just an excuse for shipping, I strongly recommend Haibane Renmei, the og adult Power of Friendship anime. It starts slice-of-lifey but ramps up, so if you like both SoL and drama its a must watch.

If you want an anime that has absolutely nothing to do with sex at all, the least romantic anime around, then that is a very wild field but sure, Keep Your Hands of the Eizouken! is a modern recommendation, group of kids doing short anime films, all about the love for the craft of animation, extremely fun and innovative.

If you mean you want an anime that has dispensed as much as possible with everything except the fucking, its just fucking o'clock every hour of the day, I recommend Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend. A rite of passage for us all.

[laismoura-art]

I loved the 'Be my king' finale. All the Lin Kuei just chilling at Hanzo's new castle and the chickens! I just *chef's kiss*

I really likes how you just didn't forget about Raiden nor his relationship with Hanzo. I feel for Raiden, though I don't think Snowblind takes places in the exact same universe as the other two films but o well.

I have a MK Legends headcanon that while Scorpion was being Lord of Netherrealm it was like:

Hanzo: I miss my husband, Sareena. I miss him a lot.

*Kuai summons Hanzo*

Hanzo: ... I'll be back.

Also I got introduced to the song "Tongues & Teeth" by The Crane Wives. And it gave me major Subscorp vibes. Specially on Scorpion's side cause of his whole vengeful wraith state.

AHHHH THANK YOU!!! I'm so happy you guys liked the finale!!💙💛💙💛💙💛

I wanted to give poor Kuai some happiness, so I had to bring his friends back! (And I had so much fun with the chickens I had to bring them along too!)

I couldn't forget Raiden. His death hurt me. Deeply🥲🥲 And I loved his dynamic with Hanzo, Raiden being everyone's dad is one of my favourite things!💛💛💛

I think Snowblind is like... you know, in the first Injustice game, where the main Earth and the other Earth were practically the same except for one major event (Lois' death) that made everything for there on extremely different?

Yeah, I think the Snowblind Earth was at some point exactly like the previous two movies' Earth until some major event (Kano finding the Hourglass) changed everything!

Headcanon entirely accepted and fully embraced! I shall assist you spreading the word!

And ok, I just heard the song, and oh. OH! It does have some major SubScorp vibes!! I loved it!

The dynamic swap makes this song heavily MK Legends Kuai coded, with the whole powers growing out of his control and how he chose to isolete himself and grew bitter and hopeless after killing his clan!🥲

If I ever make a SubScorp inspired playlist, this song will be definitely in it! And also "Love like Ghosts" by Lord Huron! Highly recommend it both as a Hanzo song and as a SubScorp song!💛💙💛💙💛💙